A Red Dawn Approaches
by Twisted Artistic Genius
Summary: AU In the streets of NYC, one man assembles what seems to be a typical gang, but through the course of time rises up to become one of the greatest organizations of its kind. There are those out there who would oppose them, however, at any and all costs...
1. Of Bars and Reunions

**A/N: Hey there, it's le Twisted Artistic Genius again! I think it's about time I've gotten off my habit of writing mainly one-shots and started towards an actual chapter-based story, so here it is! Before we start though, I'll just talk a little bit about what's going to be in here. If you'd like to skip that and go straight to reading ze story, by all means go ahead. Just don't complain if you get a little confused or something later on, though!**

-->** OC's: Yeah, I know lots of people don't like reading them, but there will be a few in here nonetheless. There's always the random ones in each story, like the shopkeeper our heroes stop at along the way to get something from, but I've also added in main OC's. I won't put in character descriptions, as this is an AU story to begin with (and who wants to go through character profiles when you can just learn about them as you read along?), but all that's important now is who owns who, I guess. Ryoko is mine, and Sukkiri and Yume are Cheesey Goodness's characters. Okay, we've gotten that out of the way, now…**

-->** Pairings: Just to inform you, yeah, there will be a few pairings in here. There will be Deidara/Sukkiri and Itachi/Yume, and maybe Ryoko/Sasori, though I haven't quite decided on that one yet. Heck, maybe I might throw in some different ones, though I don't know at the moment. It all depends on where I want to take the story.**

-->** AU: This is just a bit of plot information. This story follows a real-world version of the Akatsuki from when they formed as a typical street gang to eventually becoming a full-blown criminal organization. This means that yeah, the mains of _Naruto_ are the antagonists of the story. Sorry, just thought I'd throw this in here in case you were wondering.**

-->** Rating: Ah yes, the rating; oh how I love the rating committees… Well, I can assure you that it will stay this way unless I for some reason feel the need to raise it. Rated for language (Because you can never avoid it when you're around me), violence (Duh, this _is_ the Akatsuki!), drug use (Like I said: street gang. Need I say more?), but not for lemons! Sorry, but I will not be writing any lemons for this story. If you want them that badly, I'll _consider_ uploading them in a different story; but for the time being, there will not be any.**

-->** Chapter Uploading: One last thing before I set you all loose on my writing! I will upload chapters as damn fast as I can, but like all of you (Hopefully all of you), I've got a life off the computer too. So if I'm a few days to a week late in uploading, please cut me some slack. If I'm later than that…I give you permission to pelt me with whatever's in arm's reach. (_I have the feeling that I'm going to regret ever saying that…_)**

**Yeah, that's about all I can think of at the moment…well, what are you doing still reading this bold print?! Go and start reading the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, although I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes that she does.**

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**Chapter One**

In the early hours of morning, all that could be heard was the snow softly hitting the ground and the footsteps of a lone person. That lone person was Sukkiri Kemikaru, a short, red-haired woman of twenty-five. She had decided to make her way to work early that day so she could finish typing the papers that were left over from the previous day. She let out a sigh. Work. Her least favorite place to be. She had been working as a secretary at a local office for some time now, and though it was a less-than ideal job, one had to start small. Well, 'less-than ideal' was a bit light. Her boss was a red-faced man who got her so angry she had to exercise every ounce of self-control she had to keep from ripping his head off.

"Oh, just be glad you have a job," she muttered to herself. She reached the building and went in, sitting down behind the desk in her small office. Turning on her computer, she got up and went to the coffee maker in the back. Sukkiri liked when she was the first one there because it gave her a chance to have a little peace before the rest of the workers came in, talking and joking loudly with one another. None of them ever joked with her, off course.

She leaned back in her desk chair and allowed herself to doze off, hoping to get a little more sleep before the hustle and bustle of the day began.

"Kemikaru! Kemikaru! Wake up! I'm not paying you to sleep on the job!"

"Wha…?" Sukkiri groggily opened her eyes when she heard the voice. She found herself face-to-face with her boss, who looked as mad as ever. "Sorry sir, it's just I—"

"I don't care! Get to work or I'll cut your pay!" he yelled.

"You can't do that!" Sukkiri cried, "I have to pay my rent and my bills!"

The man sneered nastily. "Well, that's not my problem. Get to work." He slapped a fresh stack of papers needing to be typed on the desk in front of her and stormed out the door. Sukkiri muttered a silent string of curses under her breath and pulled out the first paper, beginning to type.

Much of the day went by hazily like this, until finally it was time to go home. Sukkiri shut down her computer and gathered up her things.

It was still snowing when she stepped outside, so she walked quickly to avoid the cold.

_I hope my hot water hasn't been shut off..._ she thought ruefully, wishing she had checked the status of her bill payment before she had left for work. As she rounded the corner, she noticed a blonde-haired man? Woman? Person sitting along the wall holding what looked like a sketchbook. Sukkiri couldn't even imagine how they stood the icy weather. Shaking her head, she passed them by.

Deidara eyed the red-haired woman that had just walked past him and drew in a sharp breath. Had she always lived in this part of town? He told himself that he'd keep an eye out for her. Opening his sketchbook, he tried to draw her face as well as he could remember.

Upon her arrival home, Sukkiri threw her bag aside, stripped off her clothes, and ran into the bathroom to take a hot shower. Once she was done, she threw on a pair of old sweatpants and a t-shirt and flopped onto her bed, quickly falling asleep.

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"Hurry up, Ryoko!"

"In a minute!" The teal-haired woman popped one last mint into her mouth before locking her trailer behind her. At twenty-seven, Ryoko's hair had finally grown back to its previous length, hanging down her back in one very long braid. It almost became a game for Ryoko to see how long she could keep up her acrobatics and fire breathing without burning her unnecessarily long hair.

Sasori for his part, still looked much the same as eight years before. Unlike his colleague, he regularly cut his hair, making sure it stayed its same length. He ran a hand through it slightly impatiently as said props worker waited in the passenger seat of Ryoko's Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. It was a controversially expensive car for a circus performer, but she was able to afford it due to the several millions of dollars she inherited when her father had finally kicked the bucket.

He waited as Ryoko got into the car, turned the key in the ignition, then pulled out of the sparsely populated parking lot.

"So where to, Sasori? You wanna stop by the bar for some drinks, or is there somewhere else you wanna go?"

"I'll take the bar. Work today was hell…"

"The bar it is, then."

Most of the car ride passed on in silence, broken every once in awhile by Ryoko cursing the snow that was steadily making driving more difficult. Sasori continued to stare out the window at the nearby sidewalk, watching without much interest as a red-haired woman walked past them, eventually turning to go inside a building. What _did_ get his attention however, was a familiar blonde head bent over a sketchbook. As Ryoko stopped the car due to the red light, Sasori opened the car door, stepping out into the snowy city.

"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Park somewhere close, Ryoko. I need to speak to this person over here."

"But it's-- ugh…fine, have it your way!"

Turning the corner and parking her beloved car next to the sidewalk, Ryoko locked it as she followed Sasori towards the blonde artist. She eyed the parking meter next to her Ferrari warily, a point she made verbally to Sasori.

"I don't feel very much like getting my car towed, you know."

"I know that. I just want to speak with him for a few minutes."

Ryoko folded her arms and leaned against the parking meter, still within earshot of the other two.

"Deidara?"

The blonde looked up to see who had spoken to him, his eyes lighting up with happiness and recognition, "Sasori-danna, un! I haven't seen you since college, un!"

"How have you been doing, lately-?"

"Oi! Hate to cut your reunion short, but my car's parked next to an empty meter, and I'm fucking _freezing_!"

Sasori raised his eyebrow, "Mind if I invite him along for drinks, then? It turns out he was my old college roommate after all."

"Go ahead, the more the merrier!" Suddenly in a much better mood, Ryoko held her hand out to the blonde artist, who was following Sasori towards the car, "I'm Ryoko, Sasori's co-worker."

"Deidara, un. Like Sasori said, I was his roommate, un."

"Cool. Order whatever you want when we get to the bar, drinks are on me!"

Deidara slid into the backseat, laying his sketchbook next to him as he began a conversation with the other two. A strange sort of euphoria had descended upon him as Ryoko pulled away from the street-corner he had worked on by himself for so long. He had found himself a beautiful muse, and a college friend he thought he'd never see again.

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Half an hour later found the three sitting at a bar counter, each drinking some form of alcohol. Unlike Sasori and Ryoko's usual outings to the bar, they were engaged in an actual conversation, rather than the silence the former two were accustomed to. It turned out that in the years since Sasori and Deidara had graduated from college, the latter had gone to many a city, job-hunting.

"Lemme tell you, un, it's much better to be drawing peoples' portraits on that street corner than being a chimney sweep, un! People thought I had started to dye my hair black, un!"

"…Chimney sweep? Those things still exist, then?"

"Yeah, un! I couldn't even use my art there, un…Well, I did draw designs onto the inside of the chimneys for awhile, un! But then it distracted me for too long and I got fired, un…"

Ryoko nodded with interest at Deidara's story while continuing to take swigs of her rum. Sasori, for his part, figured that his artistically-inclined roommate would end up as a starving job-hunter; but couldn't really talk, since he himself hadn't managed to get a job more prestigious than a behind-the-scenes circus worker.

"So what do you two do, then, un? Must be something exciting to get paid enough for that car, un!"

Sasori made a face while Ryoko let out a short bark of laughter, "Nah, that's just a gift I gave myself from some money my old man left me. Sasori and I work in the circus, and we're going to be staying here for a few weeks before moving on to the next city. He works with all the props; building, designing, repairing, testing them, etc. I'm an acrobat and fire breather, which is why I always use a bunch of these." She gestured to a bowl of mints sitting on the counter before swiping a few for later use.

Deidara nodded in turn, about to ask more about Sasori's prop-work, when a flash of red caught his attention. Swiveling about on his barstool, Deidara's eyes widened in amazement as he beheld the very same woman he had tried to sketch earlier that day. If anything, she looked even more beautiful indoors, striding up to the counter to order some sake.

_Sake…so she likes rice wine, un? Another thing I like about her, un!_

If anything, Deidara was starting to feel rather giddy as his blue eyes watched how every muscle in her body flowed while she leaned against the counter slightly to order her alcohol. His heart skipped a few beats when he watched her sit down on a stool not too far away from them, his mind nudging at him to go and strike up a conversation.

"…Deidara? You okay there?"

"Un?" He turned to look back at Sasori and Ryoko, both of whom had noticed how quickly he had spaced out on them. Ryoko looked from the blonde to the redhead, then back again, a knowing smirk growing across her face.

"Go talk to her."

"But what if she-"

"Don't worry, Sasori and I will be right here if anything goes wrong! Go, before I force you to myself!"

Just a little frightened of the acrobat, Deidara jumped off his stool and nearly ran towards the red haired woman, stopping himself in time and trying to make his approach seem more casual.

Ryoko grinned to herself as she set her chin on her hand, sipping absentmindedly at her rum while watching Deidara begin to make his move on the woman. She had only spoken to him for about half an hour; but with how much and animatedly Deidara liked to speak, and their mutual friendship with Sasori, she felt as if he were already one of her oldest and best friends. And as such, if he wanted someone, Ryoko was going to make sure he got her.

As if reading her thoughts, Sasori shook his head, turning to look away from them, "Ryoko, you are _not_ going to be playing Match-maker again. Remember how disastrous _that_ was with me?"

"Well it's not my fault that fan girl offered me a literal truckload of apples for information on where you're most ticklish! _You_ know I can't resist apples!"

Sasori shook his head again, a sigh escaping his lips after setting down his glass on the counter, "That move was just like something Kakuzu would pull…"

Kakuzu was their boss, the owner of the circus so to say. He was a miser who was addicted to money much worse than most drug addicts could say they were to their respective highs, and as such kept an extremely tight fist on his employees' salaries. Only the fact that most of the performers could put him into extremely dangerous situations with him at their mercy kept him from not paying them at all. This was something Ryoko liked to remind Sasori of whenever they got into arguments, and which he grudgingly admitted was true.

"Oi! You're not paying attention, are you?!"

Sasori raised an eyebrow as Ryoko pulled him out of his thoughts. He turned to where her eyes were pointing, and found himself smirking slightly despite himself.

_Well, well, Deidara…Looks like you might be getting a girlfriend soon…_

Sukkiri thanked the bartender as she reached for her sake. She had taken a short nap at her home before deciding that a drink or two would help get her mind off her troubles. Henceforth she was now here, although she had no idea how life-altering this trip to the bar would be.

"Hello, un. Sorry to bother you, but I wanted to tell you about how you would be such a beautiful art subject, un!"

Sukkiri's hand froze halfway towards her mouth, still holding the glass with her sake. An expression quickly formed across her face that practically screamed, 'WTF?!' However, she allowed a smile to replace it, realizing that he was the person she had seen sketching at the street corner.

"Thanks. So you're an artist, I take it?" She made no move to stop him as Deidara sat on the stool next to her, his drink also in his hand.

"I am, un! Art is my life, un! I do it for a living, un!"

Sukkiri noticed with a hint of laughter on her lips how nervous the blonde artist seemed to be. He continued to trip over his sentences, then finally lapsed into a silence, having figured that he'd said enough. She found him endearing and cute, and was a bit relieved to hear from his voice that he was most likely male.

"So where do you live?"

"Uh, un…" Deidara froze there. He was not the most experienced in this field, but he didn't need to be in order to know that admitting he was homeless would not impress her.

He did not need to speak though, as a sympathetic light came into Sukkiri's eyes, "Let me guess, you live on the corner I saw you on?"

"…yeah, un…" The dejection that seeped out of him was almost tangible, and only added to the cuteness factor that Deidara was already ranking high in. Sukkiri resisted the urge to hug him and laid a hand on his shoulder, her heart also skipping a beat when Deidara looked up at her with a big doleful blue eye, the other one hidden by his hair.

"You seem like a nice enough guy, and not that shady. What's your name?"

"Deidara, un. May I know yours too, un?"

"Sukkiri Kemikaru."

_Sukkiri…that'd be a wonderful name to moan out, un--HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, UN! Keep your head out of the gutter, un! It's not like she's going to invite you to stay at her home, un!_

"Would you like to come stay with me then, Deidara?"

It would be safe to say that Deidara's mind and body both froze over at the words that came out of Sukkiri's mouth. His mind was the first to recover.

…dreams really do come true, un! A mental chibi Deidara was dancing about, singing with the chibi clay birds that also populated Deidara's strange mind. He then only stopped long enough to yell for Deidara to say 'yes' before going back to dancing.

The real-life version obeyed before Sukkiri could reconsider, "Yes please, un! Thank you very much for letting me stay with you, un!" Not thinking, Deidara lunged forwards and glomped Sukkiri in happiness. Luckily for him, Sukkiri seemed not to mind and hugged him back, "No problem!"

"Congratulations, you two!"

Sukkiri looked up to see that two of the bar's other occupants were walking towards them, one of them applauding while grinning widely, the other one simply looking bored.

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but you just looked so cute together! And did I hear something about you going to stay with her, Deidara? That's awesome!"

"Er…I'm sorry, but who are you?" Sukkiri raised an eyebrow, wondering at the back of her mind if this woman had tried to set her up with Deidara from the beginning.

"Oh yeah! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Ryoko, and this is Sasori." She gestured to the other one next to her, who raised his hand slightly in greeting. "We're Deidara's friends, but it looks like he won't be going home with us tonight." Ryoko allowed a smirk to cross her face as she laid some money on the counter to pay for their alcohol.

Sasori made a face and shook his head again, knowing that his colleague's mind had plunged straight into the gutter, "Ryoko, he's just staying over at the woman's house, that is all. I've spent the night in your trailer before, you know."

"Yeah, but that's because we were both so wasted that neither felt like moving at all. It's funny, though…I always stayed on the bed, and you on the floor. It suits you, ya know."

Sasori stopped, the four of them having headed out of the door by this point. The look on his face was anything but amused, "Are you insinuating that if we were in a relationship, I'd be the uke?"

Ryoko smirked, enjoying fooling around like this, "Well hell yeah, you would be! I've never seen you complain about sleeping on the floor or anything like that!"

"Er…you two seem like nice people, but I think we'd better be going home now…"

Sukkiri was slowly inching away from the two, her hand intertwined with Deidara's. Ryoko nodded, miraculously not noticing this last crucial detail between them, "Alright then. Meet us here same time tomorrow?"

"Got it. Come on, let's go home Deidara."

The blonde bemusedly followed Sukkiri after waving to the other two, who were getting into Ryoko's car, still arguing about who would be uke.

The snow was still falling outside from the pitch black sky, slowly floating down to land silently around the two. It almost seemed muffled around them, as if the switch for sound had been flicked off; leaving them with a sacred silence that enveloped them like a soft, warm blanket.

Not thinking very much, Deidara wrapped an arm around Sukkiri's shoulders, bringing the smaller-boned, feminine form close to him.

"Uh, you looked cold, un!" he added quickly at the surprised look on Sukkiri's face.

Sukkiri smiled somewhat, forgetting the tiny little detail that she didn't even know Deidara all that well; but that did not seem to matter at all around him, however. Deidara had the strange gift of befriending people while giving off the feeling of them having known him for years.

Within only a few minutes they made it back to Sukkiri's apartment, Deidara letting go of her long enough for Sukkiri to unlock the door and invite him inside. It being rather late at night, Sukkiri fetched a few throw blankets before laying them on the couch.

"Sorry 'bout you having to sleep here, but I only have one bed."

"That's okay, un! It looks much comfier than the sidewalk, un!"

Smiling to himself as he watched his muse laugh at his joke, Deidara removed his slightly tattered coat and hung it up in the closet, calling good-night back to her as Sukkiri retired to her own room.

I have the best luck in the world, don't I, un?

Things were about to change, however. For good or for bad was uncertain at the moment.

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**A/N: So there you have it, the first chapter. The second one's going to be a bunch of introductions, too; but after that we can actually start getting into the story! Expect the next chapter to be up within a few days!**


	2. A Man Seeks Us All

**A/N: So sorry for the slight delay! I'm visiting my grandmother over in Guaynabo, and the internet connection over here isn't that great. I got the chapter up though, so that's all that matters! **

**Oh yes, I also forgot to add a disclaimer to the last chapter; so I'll add one there as soon as I can. Just thought I'd mention that.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. If I did, there would be a lot less of characters I like dying!**

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**Chapter Two**

Late at night as it was, it remained quite early in the views of three other people not too far away. Two of them were making their way down a sidewalk in an extremely run-down area of the city, their crisp and expensive looking business suits diverging from the dirty and overall low-life atmosphere that prevailed there.

The taller of the two did not seem to mind all that much where they were, a strange look of anticipation decorating the near-terrifying grin on his face. His teeth were sharpened to a point, explaining the terror-striking aspect of his showing them. The shorter of the two, however, had a stoic expression that never seemed to leave him. His eyes passed disdainfully over the trash-strewn sidewalk, frowning as some now-indistinguishable food spilled onto his shoe from a waste heap he had failed to notice.

"Kisame, how much farther is this place you want to take me?"

"Not too far. I'm telling you, Itachi, you'll be thanking me when we get there! Its employees are excellent, to say the least."

"Excellent? In this area of New York City? You must be blinder than our elderly client to believe such a thing."

"Fine, say what you will, but you'll be eating your words soon enough."

Itachi simply frowned again, but remained silent as he and his business partner continued down the street. They finally stopped in front of a small door that did not stand out all that very much. As a matter of fact, if Kisame hadn't stopped walking there, Itachi was sure he would have passed by it without a second glance or thought as to what may have laid behind it.

His taller partner knocked on it three times, obviously having learned some form of letting whoever was inside know that it was him. While waiting for somebody to answer them, Itachi allowed his eyes to travel around the small area of the edifice that surrounded said door. The walls were not different in the least compared to the other buildings they had passed on their way here, but the small red light that hung over the door was enough to tell Itachi what sort of place this was.

"You took me to a brothel?"

"Well, not really. It's more of an exclusive strip club than anything. They're located all the way out here so as to make it harder for casual customers to find." he added, once Itachi had lifted an eyebrow at Kisame's use of the word 'exclusive'.

Itachi was about to add something, but was cut off by the door opening slightly, an eye peeking out to see who it was.

"Ah, Mr. Hoshigake? Come in, come in! And I see you've brought a guest along with you. A potential customer?"

"Yeah, I think he'll like it here."

The wink shared between his partner and the man who answered the door was not missed by Itachi. He knew Kisame had some sort of motive or another to get him here, although what it was, he did not know.

He followed them down a hallway lined with a few doors, Itachi having quite a good idea of what the rooms beyond were used for. Wrinkling his nose a bit, he frowned as the thought crossed his mind that this really was perhaps what Kisame believed Itachi to find entertaining. Well, perhaps he did a bit, as he was a man like any other; but the whole idea of needing to pay someone to perform those services for him was just too low-class for his tastes.

"Just take a seat anywhere you'd like, sirs. Our star performer will be out in a minute."

Itachi looked into the room their guide had just brought them to. It was large and spacious, housing a few rows of seats and a small stage that stood in front of them, like some sort of twisted main museum exhibit.

Following Kisame, Itachi frowned slightly as he saw his partner sit front and center, but sat beside him nonetheless before leaning in to whisper into his ear.

"If this is some sort of prank, Hoshigake, I'll gut you like the fish you so adore."

"So like you, Itachi, so like you… Stop being so suspicious and enjoy the show, it's about to start!"

The same doubtful frown on his face, Itachi grudgingly turned back to the stage, only having noticed as the house lights dimmed that he and Kisame were the only ones in the audience.

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Kisame grinned in a self-satisfied manner as he and Itachi made their way back down the hallway towards the front door. The stoic raven-head hadn't made a single move of displeasure or annoyance the whole time, and if the sharp-toothed man wasn't mistaken, his partner had hung behind to speak in whispers to the club's owner. Curious as to what they had spoken about, Kisame waited until Itachi had caught up to him and after they had exited through the inconspicuous front door.

"So what were you two talking about back there?"

"I wanted to know a few things."

"Like what?"

Kisame was not fazed by the threatening glance Itachi had thrown him; as his business partner and oldest friend, it was a prerogative of his to be able to mess around with the Uchiha in ways that normal people would have lost their heads for.

Knowing that Kisame would not give up until he had a satisfactory answer, Itachi looked forward again as they walked up the street in the general direction of their apartments, "I found out that the girl's name was Yume Hikari, and I have reserved her services for the future. Are you satisfied now, Kisame?"

Kisame let loose another sharp-toothed grin, allowing Itachi to take that for his answer.

_Oh yes I am, Uchiha. Everything's going exactly to plan…_

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Not that far away from the club the business partners had just left sat a rather odd-looking man. He was very tall, probably about as much as Kisame, but had hair dyed a dark green and a very sickly coloring. He watched as the two walked past him, judging mentally whether or not they would be worthwhile customers. Shaking his head slightly, the man decided that the shorter of the two was far from the gullible sort that he was looking for, and would warn his stronger-looking friend against him.

_Just as well_, he added to himself as the men turned around the corner, _I don't think I'm quite in the shape to put up a fight if Mr. Raven were to set Shark-man on me._

"Zetsu? Ah, there you are, Zetsu!"

Zetsu turned his head as he heard quick, light footsteps hurrying towards him. His protégé and high school tag-along friend Tobi emerged from inside a building across the street, waving a sheet of paper as he ran towards him, "I got some more orders, Zetsu! These new customers don't look like they'll last long, though."

"We'll take what we can get." Zetsu took the money and order forms from Tobi and reviewed them, selecting a few packets and vials from a box beside him, and adding a syringe to the bundle.

"Take these back to them and let them know that I'll be back on this street corner three days from now. That is all."

"Okay then, Zetsu!" Without another word, Tobi then hurried back into the building he had emerged from, leaving Zetsu to lay back against the wall, going back to picking out potential customers from the occasional people walking past him.

He didn't have to, though. Within a few minutes a man with slicked-back silver hair made his way over to Zetsu, wrinkling his nose in disgust as he caught sight of the drugs in the open box next to him.

"Are you Zetsu?"

"Yes. How may I help you tonight?"

The man held up a sheet of paper that Zetsu at first thought was an order form, but at second glance was really some sort of a note. Not allowing him to read it for too long, the visitor folded it and slipped it into his coat, looking around at the nearby buildings.

"Get your assistant over here soon and come with me. We have several people to contact tonight, and very little time in which to do it."

Zetsu stood up, closing his box and hiding it underneath his own coat, suspicion rising within him, "Who are you, and what is it you want with us?"

The silver-haired man turned back to him, "My name is Hidan, and I have been contacted by the same man who wants you, your assistant, and many other people in New York City. We had better hurry with our new errand though, before he loses his benevolence towards us and has us all killed, or worse."

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A loud series of knocks on the trailer door brought Ryoko out of a rather nice dream that she had just started. Grunting slightly as her brain forced its way to full consciousness, she stumbled out of her bed and nearly tripped over Sasori, who had collapsed out of pure exhaustion on her floor after having to work late on several trapeze mechanisms that had fallen apart while they were out.

Opening the door, it took Ryoko several moments to register that the man standing outside was her boss, Kakuzu, and that if he was disturbing her this late at night (1), then it was very important.

"Kakuzu?! What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"I need you and Sasori to get dressed and come to my car in five minutes."

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions, just do it. Remember that I can always dock your pay for the next few weeks." he added this last part as if to give her an incentive to speed it up, then turned away back to the parking lot. Having the distinct feeling that he would actually time them, Ryoko shut the door and ran over to her dresser; Sasori already having been awakened by Kakuzu's not-too-quiet whispers.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting something a bit more decent to wear out there than an oversized T-shirt. I suggest you go out now and meet Kakuzu since you're already fully-dressed and don't need to stay here watching me."

Not being one to do as he was told, Sasori opened his mouth to give her a sarcastic reply, but thought better of it. The situation was already strange enough as it was, and the worried tone in Ryoko's voice called his mind to strict attention. As an acrobat and fire breather, Ryoko courted danger for a living; so if something were to actually worry her, it was most likely serious.

He exited Ryoko's trailer and closed the door behind him, making his way over to where Kakuzu sat waiting in his car. True to Ryoko's suspicions, Kakuzu indeed had a timer going on in his watch, and grunted somewhat as he watched Sasori enter the backseat of his car alone. Exactly two minutes later, Ryoko barreled out of her trailer, locking it behind her despite the time limit they had before joining Sasori in the backseat.

"…you had twenty-five seconds left. Lucky girl."

Without another word, Kakuzu started up his car and pulled out of the parking lot, driving on in silence to a place he did not seem to have been to before. This was obvious from the fact that every few streets or so Kakuzu would need to consult a sheet of paper in his hand with directions underneath a short note. Ryoko tried to crane her head over to where she could read it, but almost as if he could anticipate her movements, Kakuzu made sure that he would conveniently have read the next set of directions and set the paper face-down upon the dashboard every time she tried.

Even Sasori was somewhat curious as to where they were going, though; and after about fifteen minutes of silence and watching Ryoko unsuccessfully try to determine where they were going, spoke up.

"What is going on, Kakuzu? You wake us both up at three in the morning, threaten us to get into your car within five exact minutes, drive off with us to some unknown destination, and say nothing as to what drove you to such madness. I repeat: what is going on?"

Kakuzu seemed to be weighing whether or not it would be safe to tell his employees what had driven him into such a frenzy, and after several minutes, let out a small sigh.

"To be honest, I don't know what is going on very much either. All I know is that I received this note not too long before I woke you up, and thought it would be safest to follow through with it. Here, you were going to read some of it eventually anyways."

Kakuzu handed the note to Ryoko's outstretched hand while Sasori switched on the overhead light, both of them leaning in to read it. Sasori's eyes widened slightly while Ryoko let out a slight gasp, the words the note bore refusing to change meaning no matter how many times she read it over.

"This is insane…"

-------

Not too long after Sasori and Ryoko were awakened by Kakuzu, a very similar event was happening in another part of the city. A woman of about twenty-five had packed up for the night and had just wished her boss goodnight, when a loud knocking came from the door she was just about to leave through. Frowning somewhat, she reached her arm forward to pull the door open. Standing outside was a very-strange looking man, and that was saying something as someone of her profession would have seen quite a few strange men. Waiting outside behind him was a sleek black car with tinted windows. She couldn't be sure, but the woman was sure that she could make out a shape or two within that car.

"Sorry sir, but we're closed now. Come back again tomorrow night."

"You are Yume Hikari, are you not?"

Yume cringed inwardly at the way the man spoke. His voice carried a slither within it that seemed to hiss much like a snake. Come to think of it, he _looked_ very much like a snake, too. The waxy white skin stretched across his face made the exotic dancer think that this man had probably never seen the light of day, let alone stepped outside his home. His yellow eyes bored into Yume's, making a shiver run through her body that it had not felt in quite awhile. Being used to men's stares was part of her job, after all, but this was different. Why it was remained inexplicable to her, however.

"Yes…Why do you ask?"

Much like Hidan had to Zetsu, the snake-man held up a note long enough for Yume to glance at it, then returned it back to its previous residence before she could read it.

"My name is Orochimaru. You are to come with us, Ms. Hikari."

"Why should I? How do I know you're not just trying to round up people for some sort of drug ring or something?"

Orochimaru's yellow eyes narrowed, obviously not having thought that he would meet resistance, "You are required to come to this meeting that has been called. Either you comply and live, or refuse and die."

Yume's eyes widened a small bit, having thought she saw the man's hand shoot into his coat pocket for what probably was a gun. Deciding that it might be smarter to go along with him for now, she held up her palms before stepping forwards onto the sidewalk, "Okay, okay, take it easy there! I'll go to whatever meeting it is that you're taking me to."

Orochimaru nodded satisfied, opening the door to the passenger seat and not moving until he had seen that Yume had put on her seatbelt. Closing the door then with a snap, he made his way around to the driver's seat and slid in, turning the key in the ignition and driving towards their destination as Yume turned to see whether or not there really were other people inside.

"Hey…you two being pulled along for this meeting-thing, too?"

The two women sitting in the back nodded, one with wild red hair and another with such perfectly-behaved blonde hair that Yume wondered how she could have fixed her hair so quickly after being awakened if the man's approach to her was the same.

"Wait…does your name happen to be Yume? Yume Hikari?"

Yume's eyes widened with the same recognition that was dawning upon the redhead's face as her familiar voice registered within her memory.

"Sukkiri?! I haven't seen you since we graduated from high school! What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Sukkiri raised an eyebrow at Yume's appearance, but shook her head slightly as she turned towards the blonde next to her.

"Oh yeah, this is my flat-mate Deidara. Deidara, this is my old friend, Yume."

The two exchanged greetings, Yume cocking an eyebrow as she heard Deidara's voice, "I don't know if you always get people pointing this out to you, but you have a rather deep voice for a girl."

Deidara's face reddened, and it was all he could do to keep the embarrassment out of his voice as he cleared it repeatedly, "I, uh…I'm a guy, un."

"Oh! Um…sorry 'bout that!"

Yume quickly faced forwards, this time sharing Deidara's sudden ruddy complexion. Fumbling a bit with her hands, Yume was at a loss for what to do with herself, until she noticed that the note Orochimaru had presented her with was lying on the dashboard in front of her. Sneaking a glance at him to see if he was paying attention to her at the moment, Yume pulled the note towards her, her eyebrows shooting upwards as she realized what it was that they were all being taken to:

_Orochimaru,_

_You are to bring me Sukkiri Kemikaru, Yume Hikari, and one named Deidara to this location tonight at 3:30 AM. There is a matter of which I have for you and several others that will appear here tonight to attend to. Consider your acceptance of my invitation and your participation absolutely mandatory._

_Also, be certain to remind yourself and the people you are to bring me that the fact they have been watched for several months and no suspicion has been raised among them is argument enough that nobody who backs out will escape our notice with their lives._

The note was not signed, but Yume was sure that even if it was that she would not recognize the name. A sound from the backseat drew Yume's attention back there, and she watched as Sukkiri yawned and laid her head on Deidara's shoulder, apparently at ease enough to believe that it was safe for her to sleep. The question within Yume's mind of whether or not to show them this note was immediately answered as she slipped it back onto the dashboard.

_Let them be for now. There's nothing we can do in here right now, so it would do no good to warn them. I'll just have to be on guard for all three of us, it seems._

"We're here now."

Yume set her jaw as she took off her seatbelt and got out of the car, having made her decision. Staying close by Deidara and Sukkiri, she followed Orochimaru into a steel door next to a dumpster and down several flights of stairs and hallways, feeling the other two's curiosity harden into a slight form of fear.

They finally came to a door lying at the end of the last hallway, on which Orochimaru knocked on five times, then four times.

"Come in. You've made it just in time, Orochimaru. You are our last group."

Indeed, just as her watch suddenly switched to 3:30, Orochimaru opened the door, and to what dangerous insanity that had reached them all at this late hour, they were about to find out.

* * *

(1) Or early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. 

**A/N: So there you have it, the introductions are over! And just as a bit of a notice, I probably won't be able to get the next chapter up for about a week or so. I will try, but there are no guarantees. Thanks for your understanding!**


	3. Thirteen Now Gathered

**A/N: Yeah...I really have no excuse for how late this chapter was, huh? All I can say is that co-writing a story, while juggling schoolwork and a fairly complicated home life, just doesn't mix. But hey, I got the chapter out, didn't I? And I learned my lesson: never promise a chapter within a certain time limit. Yeah...what am I doing still talking? Start reading, you over there!**

**And a good half of this chapter was written by CheeseyGoodness, who I'm co-writing this story with. Credit given where it's due.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the Akatsuki. Though they'd be an awesome source of free/cheap labor if I did...

* * *

**

**Chapter Three**

**3:15 AM**

Five knocks, then four brought the man sitting in shadow out of his contemplative silence. Allowing himself to smirk somewhat, he spoke loud enough for the people waiting outside to hear, "Come in."

The door opened to admit a silver-haired man and his group, which was the largest one he had assigned. The silver-haired man he knew to be named Hidan; they had met on one occasion before. Or more like Hidan had tried to make himself scarce when he had appeared to give him the note, but that was just a slight technicality.

He brought one gloved hand out of the darkness he sat in and gestured for the group to seat themselves at the long table that stretched out before him, which they did with varying degrees of uneasiness. Hidan looked rather unnerved, and took out a small object once he had sat down and started mouthing words to it as he closed his eyes. Zetsu sat beside him, opposite the door, also unnerved, but for different reasons. Being a drug dealer, he always had to be on the lookout; but he had no way of knowing if these people were also criminals like him, or undercover cops. Tobi however, didn't seem to realize how much potential danger he was in, and bounced slightly on the chair's cushion, laughing softly until Zetsu threw him a look, at which he fell silent instantaneously.

Itachi and Kisame, the last two people to enter within Hidan's group, were rather confused as they also seated themselves, but both were rather calm considering the situation. Granted, neither one had read the note given to Hidan, but there was a sort of calculating collectivity about the business partners that most likely would not have been disturbed even if they had read it.

Silence reigned for seven more minutes until another party announced itself by knocking five times, then four.

"Come in."

This time Kakuzu entered, closely followed by Sasori and Ryoko. The former two had no visible reactions as they sat down, but Ryoko stopped as soon as the door closed behind her, surprise dawning as her eyes fell upon the people sitting directly across from where she was standing.

"Zetsu? Tobi? What are you guys doing here?"

Zetsu was brought out of his thoughts by Ryoko's voice, also surprised to hear from her, "Ryoko? You-"

But the rest of his words were drowned out by Tobi nearly jumping out of his chair and across the table, his excitement revved up again.

"Ryoko! It's you again! Yay, now we can go back to it being the three of us!"

Zetsu grabbed his hyperactive assistant by the back of his collar and pulled him back into his chair, what movements that were visible from the man in shadows warning him that he was not in the mood for watching old friends reuniting. Settling instead for waiting in silence as Ryoko sat across from them, Zetsu turned to observe and count the other people seated at the long table. Not counting the man who had brought them all here, there were eight of them so far, with four empty chairs waiting patiently for their occupants to arrive.

_So with him, there are thirteen of us…One could say that he did this on purpose._

Time ticked by as silence thickened around them like drying cement. The few people who had read the note and knew that there was a deadline continually checked their watches, watching as 3:30 drew dangerously closer. If the last group did not arrive by then, there was no telling whether they would be the only ones punished, or if they all would be.

Then, miraculously, five followed by four knocks broke the tension in the room, generating several inaudible sighs of relief from those who had been guarding their watches like sentinels.

"Come in. You've made it just in time, Orochimaru. You are our last group."

As the waxy-skinned man led his group inside, Ryoko's eyes widened to see that even the two people she had met today were targeted, as well as Itachi's when he recognized one of the women who walked in.

Like before however, there was no time for reunions as movement drew everyone's attention to where the mysterious man sat in shadows. He did not leave the unlighted area from where his identity remained hidden, but rather paced a bit as he spoke, addressing each person around the table in turn.

"…Hidan. Leader of a fanatical cult whose presence has only just gained popularity this year.

"Zetsu. Drug dealer with a young assistant that has the dependence of the many addicted in this city resting in the palms of his hands.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. Owners of a partnership that ranks high within the business world.

"Kakuzu. Owner of a traveling circus with great financial ability and income.

"Akasuna no Sasori and Okumichi Ryoko. Prop builder and acrobat within said circus.

"Hikari Yume. Exotic dancer within an exclusive strip club."

It was at this point that Kisame grinned while nudging Itachi to reinforce his point about the club being exclusive, but no grunts of annoyance came from his partner. He was watching each person the shadowy man addressed as they were spoken about, gauging their appearance, reactions to their being spoken about, and overall state of mind under this sort of unexplained-for-pressure. When the man confirmed his suspicion that the last woman to enter was indeed Yume, his eyes narrowed somewhat. While his own thoughts about the other eleven remained indifferent, something about the dark-haired dancer struck his mind, and he was not all that sure what it was.

"Kemikaru Sukkiri. Office secretary with a great urge to murder her boss."

Sukkiri turned a bit red, not sure whether to be confused about how he knew this, or to be angry with his throwing that information out there.

"Deidara. Homeless street corner artist until earlier tonight, and now dwells with Kemikaru Sukkiri."

Her red coloring deepened as Sukkiri glared towards the shadowy man, but a hand laying itself on her arm calmed her. Deidara shook his head slightly, having had the feeling that she was about to leap out of her chair and beat the stuffing out of the man in the shadows if provoked further about her personal information being known.

"Orochimaru. Medical school dropout and registered sex offender and pedophile."

Several eyebrows raised at this last comment, but the people around him hardly had time to scoot their chairs several more inches away from him before the man spoke again, this time having finished describing the people he had brought here.

"As you can tell, you are all extremely different people with varying talents. You may be wondering why it is that I have brought you all together, when you cannot see anything in common that the twelve of you share. The answer is quite simple, actually, and any of you with half a brain intact should be able to have figured it out by now."

While most of those present exchanged looks of confusion, a select few nodded slightly, understanding dawning upon them. Itachi and Sasori were the first to have realized what was going on, both looking towards the unnamed man with the same expression of mixed disbelief and a slight frown each.

"You are building a gang here, is that it?"

Sukkiri gave a slight roll of her eyes, wishing that she could go back to sleep. Join a gang? As if she needed to worry about anything more in her life. And what 'talent' was he referring to? As far as she knew, there was nothing remarkable about her that would be of any desire to this unknown man. What would she do, type someone to death? Pencil throw of doom, perhaps? A mental image of her in a Batman costume throwing newly-sharpened pencils at a masked villain flashed through her mind. Biting her tongue to suppress a laugh, she turned her attention back to the man.

All eyes turned back towards him as well, who just might have been smiling, as his voice carried a hint of it back to them, "To be perfectly blunt, yes. Now as I have mentioned to a few of you before, this is a proposal I am putting forward to you all. Which of course means that you will accept it, regardless of whether you actually want to or not. Are we clear?"

That same tension that dominated the room before was back, settling into the twelve that were actually seated underneath the dim lighting. Several of them exchanged looks again, as though asking one another who was going to play it safe and stay or leave despite the man's threats. Eventually however, Itachi stood up, all the while his eyes fixed upon the shadowy man, "I understand. I accept your proposal."

"I do as well." Sasori stood up, followed soon after by Kisame, Zetsu, Tobi, Yume, Orochimaru, Kakuzu and Hidan. Deidara and Sukkiri's eyes met as they watched the others stand up one by one, and Deidara stood up as well, despite Sukkiri's raised eyebrow. She still did not quite believe that what was going on was real, and that at any moment she would wake up to find that this was all just a messed-up dream. As no such thing happened however, Sukkiri shrugged mentally before joining the others in their speechless pledge of allegiance to the man-of-shadows.

Despite his being for all intents and purposes invisible to the rest of the people in the room, most of them could almost see him narrow his eyes as they fell upon the only person still seated within the room.

"Well? Am I to assume that you choose death, ma'am?"

Ryoko's face was unreadable, as several thoughts seemed to be pursuing one another within her mind. Her frown deepened as she stared at the table in front of her, almost as if she had forgotten that the rest of the world existed.

_Can I really take this risk? No matter what I choose, I can't see how I'll make it out of this alive in a year or two. Not if I continue with my prescribed course of action, at least--_

"I am waiting, Okumichi."

Ryoko lifted her eyes to find the hidden ones of the man-in-shadows. The frown never leaving her face, she stood up wordlessly, internally convinced now that she must have lost all sense of self-preservation.

"A wise decision. Be it understood that you all now belong within The Akatsuki. Though we are, regrettably, towards the bottom of the ladder at the moment; I do not expect this to be the case in three month's time. This of course means that I will have no slacking."

His gloved hand made itself known once more by stretching out into the dim lighting, pointing to several members in turn. First he pointed at Hidan, who tensed slightly at this action, "I will contact you when we are to have meetings. In turn, you will inform Zetsu and Tobi here. Uchiha and Hoshigaki, I know the numbers to your direct lines, so there is no need for intervention there. Be certain not to have it changed, or else."

The mysterious hand then turned towards Kakuzu, who wasn't half as bothered by it as Hidan was, "I know your number as well, so all you need to do is pass along my information to your two employees." Next, the hand went along to Sukkiri, who was paying attention a smidge more now, "I intend for you to be in charge of communications for Akatsuki, so naturally I will have a direct way to contact you. As you now live with Deidara, you are responsible for letting him know whatever I tell you. And as for you,"

The gloved hand now pointed towards Orochimaru, "I will contact you as before, and your person to inform will be Yume. Are there any questions?"

Despite the offer, not a single pair of lips parted to allow words to pass through. It was just as well, since their new leader did not seem to be in the mood for them.

"Good. You are dismissed, for now."

-------

Sukkiri stood up slowly and let out a yawn.

"Let's blow this popsicle stand. I have to go to work early tomorrow," she said to Deidara, heading towards the exit. Yume strode along side of them.

"Hey, guys," Yume said in a low voice as they stepped out into the night, "Wanna just catch a different taxi? I don't really want to be driven home by a _sex offender_, especially not in my work uniform." She gestured to her skimpy clothing.

Sukkiri gave her a nod of understanding, noticing the desperate look in her eyes. Standing on the edge of the curb, she quickly caught a taxi.

"Where to, ma'am?" asked the driver as the three adults filed into the cramped back seat.

"Corner of 7th and 43rd, please."

She buckled her seatbelt and lightly drummed on her thighs until, with a glance to her side, she caught Yume staring at her, an odd look on her face.

"What?"

Yume shook her head, taken by surprise at Sukkiri's observation.

"Nothing, really. I was just kinda hoping you, we, lived in one of those fancy apartments up in SoHo, y'know?"

Sukkiri tossed her head back and let out a light laugh. "Not with my salary, Yume, sorry. Much as I'd love to move, I'm just making sure I pay next month's rent right now."

A period of silence followed, although not at all unfriendly. Finally, Yume smiled, "Seeing you again gives me nostalgia, remembering our crazy high school career."

"Ah, yes," Sukkiri replied, grinning as well, "The demon days."

"Something tells me I don't want to hear this," muttered Deidara, "and yet I can't resist."

With a wave of her hand, Sukkiri stated, "Oh, nothing much. Yume and I were just a couple of loonies back in school, that's all. Used to drink some ginseng every Friday night in Times Square and go around acting like maniacs. Almost got arrested on drug charges, until the police realized that we weren't doing anything illegal. We stopped doing that, thought, because ginseng has some nasty side effects."

"Although, I have to say, Sukkiri was the crazier one. She'd get drunk practically every chance she got," the dark-haired woman chimed in.

A hint of colour appeared on the red-haired woman's cheeks; she immediately cut in, "I think that's all that needs to be said, Yume. Deidara's stayed with me less than one night, and it wouldn't do any good to chase him away."

"Here we are, ma'am," the taxi driver announced suddenly.

Sukkiri rummaged through her pockets, pulling out a wad of crumpled papers before reaching her money. Handing the driver a bill, she exited the taxi, Deidara close behind.

"Well, see you around, Yume. Stop by sometime, you hear? Building 206, apartment C-7."

"Bye," Yume waved, "And nice meeting you, Deidara."

The blonde gave a nod and turned to walk into the building.

-------

Once inside the apartment, Sukkiri grabbed a pillow and threw it onto the carpeted floor. She kicked her shoes off and flopped down onto it.

"I hate that man, I have decided. Now I'll never fall back to sleep. I blame him for any time my boss yells at me tomorrow for slacking on the job. _Khuy_ (1)," she groaned.

Deidara chuckled softly and climbed onto the couch.

Soon after he had settled down, a small white cat came out from under said couch and jumped onto his chest, giving his face a small sniff and lying down, seeming to have deemed him worthy.

"Ah, Jascha, you've come out to visit!" Sukkiri smiled. She began to coo at the cat in an incoherent voice.

The blonde-haired man picked up the cat and set it on the floor; it made a small noise of indignation and trotted over to where its master lay.

"You'll have to excuse her, she's used to being the queen of the household and sleeping wherever she pleases. Jascha's a nice cat, although I have to say she listens better to Russian rather than English."

"Russian, un?"

"I'll explain some other time," Sukkiri replied. She began to play with Jascha again. "_Kóška _(2), come here."

After the animal lost interest in playing and stalked into another room, the woman put her head back down on the pillow. The pair remained silent until Sukkiri spoke once again.  
"A gang. Can you believe this? It just seems so surreal. I mean, here I am, a twenty-five-year-old woman with a less-than-ideal occupation and nearly broke. There's probably hundreds, millions of women just like me in New York City. What could that man possibly want? And the fact that he knew our whereabouts and whatnot perturbs me. It makes me wonder if my apartment is bugged or if I'm being followed, you know?"

Deidara merely shrugged and answered, "Well, I'm not too sure what this what this is all about, either, un, but I guess we'll find out in due time. We just have to let things fall into place, un."

"Yes," the redhead replied drowsily, and soon she was asleep.

Flicking off the light, Deidara soon drifted off as well.

**-------**

**4:27 AM **

"Come, Yume. You can't run from us."

Yume's eyes flew open, and she felt the cold sweat on her limbs.

"A nightmare..." she breathed. Remnants of the hissing voice still rang in her ears, causing her to shudder and pull her blankets closer to her body.

She was not one to have nightmares, that is, if she even dreamt at all. However, it was apparent to her that tonight's events had gotten to her head. In her dream, she had been surrounded by looming black figures with jeering smiles and red eyes. In the center was the mysterious man who had called together the group of people and next to him, the snake-like figure of Orochimaru. She had wanted to run, but her feet had been unable to move, and as the darkness began to overcome her...

The dark-haired woman gave another shiver and decided it would be best to do something else to occupy her mind. Rising from her bed, she put on a robe and walked into her kitchen.

Yume fixed herself a mug of hot chocolate and stood at the window, staring out into the darkened alley. For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the gentle ticking of a clock that resided above her refrigerator. Once she heard some faint shouts and the tinkling of breaking glass. It did not disturb her, however, for she knew that the neighborhood she lived in had a history of nighttime gangs. She had gotten used to it, having lived in the apartment since her college graduation, but still kept her mean of protection in the bedroom closet: A katana. People might call her crazy, but she was not one to take chances.  
_  
And anyways_, she thought, _buying a gun license is too much of a hassle._

* * *

(1) Khuy is Mat' (Russian slang language) for 'dick'  
(2) Kóška (koshka) is Russian for 'cat'

* * *

**We'll be getting into the antagonists in the next chapter (which I've already written a bit of...-le gasp!- ), and I think I'll be throwing a bit of SasuNaru somewhere in this story, just 'cause this seems the type of story to have a mess of pairings all around. Any thoughts, constructive criticisms, or just plain random comments? Please send 'em to me in a review! I can only improve with your help, remember that! (Wow...I feel so shameless, advertising myself like that...ah well.)**


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